Display panel, manufacture method thereof and display apparatus

ABSTRACT

A display panel, a manufacture method thereof and a display apparatus are provided. The display panel includes a display area, which includes a plurality of pixel units, wherein the pixel units include electroluminescent display devices and pixel drive circuits for driving the electroluminescent display devices to emit light; the electroluminescent display devices include light-emitting devices and virtual light-emitting devices; the light-emitting devices are electrically connected with the pixel drive circuits, while the virtual light-emitting devices are not connected with the corresponding pixel drive circuits; the display area includes a first display area and a second display area; and in the first display area and the second display area, the distribution density of the electroluminescent display devices is the same, and the density of the pixel drive circuits in the second display area is less than that of the pixel drive circuits in the first display area.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to Chinese Patent ApplicationNo. 201910072755.5 filed with Chinese Patent Office on Jan. 25, 2019,and entitled “Display Panel, Manufacture Method Thereof and DisplayApparatus”, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the technical field of display, andparticularly to a display panel, a manufacture method thereof and adisplay apparatus.

BACKGROUND

Electroluminescent display devices are widely applied due to their owncharacteristics. At present, with the development of small andmedium-sized display screens, terminal display products are developingin the direction of smaller and smaller appearance bezels.Photosensitive elements that need to be equipped with intelligentfunctions such as an infrared sensor function will occupy most of thebezel. To solve this contradiction, a more effective solution is toplace an infrared sensor and other photosensitive elements on the backof the display screen. In this way, there will be a new problem: theinfrared light transmittance is greatly reduced by the wiring density ina backplane circuit, and the purpose of the current infrared detectionand other functions cannot be achieved.

SUMMARY

An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a display panel. Thedisplay panel includes: a display area, which has a plurality of pixelunits, wherein the pixel units include electroluminescent displaydevices and pixel drive circuits for driving the electroluminescentdisplay devices to emit light; the electroluminescent display devicesinclude light-emitting devices and virtual light-emitting devices; thelight-emitting devices are electrically connected with the pixel drivecircuits, and the virtual light-emitting device are not connected withthe corresponding pixel drive circuits; wherein the display areaincludes a first display area and a second display area; and adistribution density of the electroluminescent display devices in thefirst display area and the second display area is same, and a density ofthe pixel drive circuits in the second display area is less than that ofthe pixel drive circuits in the first display area.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, onelight-emitting device is electrically connected to one pixel drivecircuit.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, in the seconddisplay area, at least two light-emitting devices with same lightemitting color are electrically connected to a same pixel drive circuit.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, in the seconddisplay area, at least part of the light-emitting devices electricallyconnected to the same pixel drive circuit are arranged in at least twocolumns.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, thelight-emitting devices include: red light-emitting devices, greenlight-emitting devices and blue light-emitting devices; in the seconddisplay area, the red light-emitting devices electrically connected tothe same pixel drive circuit are arranged in at least two columns, andthe red light-emitting devices in adjacent columns are staggered; and inthe second display area, the blue light-emitting devices electricallyconnected to the same pixel drive circuit are arranged in at least twocolumns, and the blue light-emitting devices in adjacent columns arestaggered.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, in the seconddisplay area, a part of the green light-emitting devices electricallyconnected to the same pixel drive circuit are arranged in at least twocolumns, and at least some of the green light-emitting devices in theadjacent columns are arranged in the same row; and in the second displayarea, the other part green light-emitting devices electrically connectedto the same pixel drive circuit are arranged in a column.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, in the seconddisplay area, the green light-emitting devices electrically connected tothe same pixel drive circuit are arranged in at least two columns, andthe green light-emitting devices in the adjacent columns are staggered.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the pixel drivecircuit includes a drive transistor, wherein in the second display area,the drive transistor is electrically connected to the correspondinglight-emitting device through an anode wiring.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, at least partof the edges of the second display area overlap with at least part ofthe edges of the display area, and the other part of the second displayarea is tangent to the first display area.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the firstdisplay area is arranged to enclose the second display area.

A display apparatus provided by the embodiment of the present disclosureincludes the above display panel.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, a sensor isarranged on a back of the display panel corresponding to a seconddisplay area, and an orthographic projection of the sensor does notoverlap with an orthographic projection of a pixel drive circuit on thedisplay panel.

The embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method formanufacturing the above display panel. The method includes: forming thepixel drive circuits in the first display area and the second displayarea of the base substrate; and forming the electroluminescent displaydevices using same fine metal mask in the first display area and thesecond display area of the base substrate with the pixel drive circuits,wherein open density of the fine metal mask corresponding to the firstdisplay area is the same as that corresponding to the second displayarea.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a schematic structural diagram of some display panelsprovided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 1B is a schematic structural diagram of a pixel drive circuit and alight-emitting device in a second display area of the display panelshown in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2A is a schematic structural diagram of some more display panelsprovided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2B is a schematic structural diagram of a pixel drive circuit and alight-emitting device in a second display area of the display panelshown in FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3A is a schematic structural diagram of some more display panelsprovided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3B is a schematic structural diagram of a pixel drive circuit and alight-emitting device in a second display area of the display panelshown in FIG. 3A;

FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a second display area insome display panels provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a partially sectional structureprovided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6A to FIG. 6H are schematic structural diagrams of a first displayarea and a second display area, respectively;

FIG. 7A is a top-view of a display apparatus provided by an embodimentof the present disclosure;

FIG. 7B is a sectional view of the display apparatus shown in FIG. 7Aalong a direction of AA′; and

FIG. 8 is a flow chart of a manufacture method provided by an embodimentof the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of thepresent disclosure clearer, the present disclosure will be furtherdescribed in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodimentsof the present disclosure rather than all the embodiments. Based on theembodiments of the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained bythose of ordinary skill in the art without inventive efforts fall withinthe protection scope of the present disclosure.

The shapes and sizes of the components in the drawings do not reflectthe true ratio, and the purpose is only to illustrate the content of thepresent disclosure.

A display panel provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure, asshown in FIGS. 1A, 2A, and 3A, may include a display area AA. Thedisplay area AA has a plurality of pixel units, wherein the pixel unitincludes an electroluminescent display device and a pixel drive circuitfor driving the electroluminescent display device to emit light. Theelectroluminescent display device may include a light-emitting deviceand a virtual light-emitting device; and the light-emitting device iselectrically connected with the pixel drive circuit, while the virtuallight-emitting device is not connected with the corresponding pixeldrive circuit. In addition, the display area AA may include a firstdisplay area aa and a second display area bb; and each of the firstdisplay area aa and the second display area bb has a plurality of pixelunits. The distribution density of the electroluminescent displaydevices is the same in the first display area aa and the second displayarea bb, and distribution density of the pixel drive circuits in thesecond display area bb is less than that of the pixel drive circuits inthe first display area aa.

In the display panel provided by the embodiment of the presentdisclosure, the distribution density of electroluminescent displaydevices in the first display area aa and the second display area bbequal, thus it may adopt the same mask to prepare the electroluminescentdisplay devices. Since the pixel drive circuit is electrically connectedwith at least one light-emitting device to drive light-emitting deviceto emit the light, the transmittance of the second display area may beimproved by making the distribution density of the pixel drive circuitsin the second display area bb less than that of the pixel drive circuitsin the first display area aa. So a sensor and other elements may bearranged on a back of the display panel corresponding to the seconddisplay area bb so that a bezel space originally required by the sensorand other elements may be eliminated, and a screen ratio of a displayscreen may be enlarged to make an extremely narrow bezel. That is, ascreen ratio of the display panel is increased by reducing distributiondensity of local pixel drive circuits to increase the transmittance ofthe screen.

In general, the pixel units are arranged in the display area of thedisplay panel, the pixel unit includes a plurality of sub-pixels. Thepixel unit in the embodiment of the present disclosure may be asub-pixel combination capable of independently displaying a pixel point.Optionally, as shown in FIGS. 1A, 2A and 3A, the display panel mayinclude: a plurality of red sub-pixels R, a plurality of greensub-pixels G, and a plurality of blue sub-pixels B. Among them, thesered sub-pixels R, green sub-pixels G and blue sub-pixels B are arrangedin a Pantile arrangement manner. In this way, adjacent pixel units adoptthe way of using common sub-pixels during display to mix red, green andblue colors to achieve image display. It should be noted that redsub-pixels R, green sub-pixels G and blue sub-pixels B are taken asexamples for illustration in FIG. 1A, FIG. 2A and FIG. 3A. The pixels asshown in FIG. 1A, FIG. 2A and FIG. 3A in the embodiment of the presentdisclosure are arranged in the manner of using the common sub-pixels bythe adjacent pixel units.

It should be noted that the distribution density of electroluminescentdisplay devices refers to the number of electroluminescent displaydevices uniformly arranged in a unit area. When the number of theelectroluminescent display devices arranged in the unit area is large,the distribution density of the electroluminescent display devices islarge. On the contrary, when the number of the electroluminescentdisplay devices arranged in unit area is small, the distribution densityof the electroluminescent display devices is small. For example, when anarea of a rectangular box formed by thick solid black lines in FIG. 1A,FIG. 2A and FIG. 3A, for example, is the unit area, the distributiondensity of the electroluminescent display devices in the first displayarea aa and the second display area bb is the same. In this way, thesame Fine Metal Mask (FFM) may be used to form the electroluminescentdevices with the same color in the first display area.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present disclosure,the distribution density of the pixel drive circuits refers to thenumber of pixel drive circuits uniformly arranged in a unit area. Whenthe number of the pixel drive circuits in the unit area is large, thedistribution density of the pixel drive circuits is large. On thecontrary, when the number of the pixel drive circuits in the unit areais small, the distribution density of the pixel drive circuits is small.For example, when an area of a rectangular box formed by thick solidblack lines in FIG. 1A, FIG. 2A and FIG. 3A, for example, is the unitarea, the distribution density of the pixel drive circuits in the seconddisplay area bb is less than that in the first display area aa.

In a specific implementation, in the embodiment of the presentdisclosure, as shown in FIG. 6A to FIG. 6G at least some edges of thesecond display area bb overlap with at least some edges of the displayarea AA, and the rest of the second display area bb is tangent to thefirst display area aa. In this way, the second display area bb isarranged at an edge of the display area AA.

In a specific implementation, in the embodiment of the presentdisclosure, as shown in FIG. 6H, the first display area aa is arrangedto enclose the second display area bb.

Exemplarily, a shape of the second display area bb may be arranged to bea regular shape, for example, as shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C, and the seconddisplay area bb may be arranged to be a rectangle. The corner of therectangle may be a right angle or an arc angle. As shown in FIG. 6D, thesecond display area bb may be arranged to be a trapezoid. The corner ofthe trapezoid may be a normal angle or an arc angle. As shown in FIG.6H, the second display area bb may be arranged to be a circle. Ofcourse, the shape of the second display area bb may also be arranged tobe an irregular shape. For example, as shown in FIG. 6E, the seconddisplay area bb may be arranged to be a droplet shape. Of course, inpractical application, the shape of the second display area bb may bedesigned according to a shape of an element arranged in the seconddisplay area, and no limitation will be made herein.

In a specific implementation, in the display substrate provided by theembodiment of the present disclosure, a relative position relation andshapes of the first display area aa and the second display area bb arenot limited, and may be arranged according to screen design of thedisplay substrate. Take a mobile phone as an example, as shown in FIG.6A, the second display area bb may be arranged in an upper left cornerof the first display area aa. As shown in FIG. 6B, the second displayarea bb is arranged in an upper right corner of the first display areaaa. As shown in FIG. 6C to FIG. 6E, the second display area bb may bearranged in an upper middle of the first display area aa. As shown inFIG. 6F, the first display area aa and the second display area bb may bearranged along a row direction. The second display area bb may belocated on an upper or lower side of the first display area aa. In thisway, sensors such as sensors for face recognition (such as infraredsensors) may also be arranged in an area where the second display areabb is located. As shown in FIG. 6G the first display area aa and thesecond display area bb may be arranged along a column direction. Thesecond display area bb may be located on a left or right side of thefirst display area aa. In this way, sensors such as the sensors for facerecognition (such as the infrared sensors) may also be arranged in thearea where the second display area bb is located. As shown in FIG. 6H,the second display area bb is arranged in a corner (such as an upperleft corner) of the display area. Of course, in practical application, aspecific location of the second display area bb may be designed anddetermined according to an actual application environment, and nolimitation will be made herein.

It should be noted that, in order to schematically illustrate thecontent of the embodiments of the present disclosure, FIG. 1A, FIG. 2A,and FIG. 3A only illustrate pixel arrangement of a part of the displayarea.

It should be noted that pixel arrangement of the second display area bbis the same as pixel arrangement of the first display area aa. Thesecond display area bb in FIGS. 1A, 2A, and 3A in the embodiment of thepresent disclosure is for describing a connection relationship betweenthe pixel drive circuit and the light-emitting devices, and onlyillustrates some sub-pixels.

In specific implementation, in the embodiment of the present disclosure,the electroluminescent display devices may include at least one ofOrganic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) and Quantum Dot Light EmittingDiodes (QLED).

In specific implementation, in the embodiment of the present disclosure,the pixel drive circuit may include a plurality of transistors such as adrive transistor and a switching transistor, and a storage capacitor,and its specific structure and working principle may be the same asthose in related technologies, so it will not be detailed here.

Exemplarily, as shown in FIG. 5, the display panel may include a basesubstrate 100, a transistor array layer 120 on one side of the basesubstrate 100, and a display device layer 110 on one side of thetransistor array layer 120 away from the base substrate 100. Thetransistor array layer 120 is configured to form the layers of thetransistor in the above pixel drive circuit and the layers of thecapacitor. The display device layer 110 is configured to form the aboveelectroluminescent display device 210. Specifically, the transistorarray layer 120 may include: an active layer 121 on one side of the basesubstrate 100, a gate layer 122 on one side of the active layer 121 awayfrom the base substrate 100, a capacitor electrode layer 123 on one sideof the gate layer 122 away from the base substrate 100, and asource/drain layer 124 (with a source 1241 and a drain 1242) on one sideof the capacitor electrode layer 123 away from the base substrate 100.The active layer 121, the gate layer 122 and the capacitor electrodelayer 123 are insulated from each other; the source/drain layer 124, thegate layer 122 and the capacitor electrode layer 123 are insulated fromeach other; and the source 1241 and the drain 1242 are electricallyconnected to the active layer 121, respectively. Also, the transistorarray layer 120 further includes: a buffer layer 125 between the basesubstrate 100 and the active layer 121, a gate insulating layer 126between the active layer 121 and the gate layer 122 so that the activelayer 121 and the gate layer 122 are insulated from each other, aninterlayer dielectric layer 127 between the gate layer 122 and thecapacitor electrode layer 123 so that the gate layer 122 and thecapacitor electrode layer 123 are insulated from each other, aninterlayer insulating layer 128 between the capacitor electrode layer123 and the source/drain layer 124 so that the capacitor electrode layer123 and the source/drain layer 124 are insulated from each other, and aplanarization layer 129 between the source/drain layer 124 and thedisplay device layer 110. In addition, the capacitor electrode layer 223and the gate layer 222 form a capacitive structure. Furthermore, thedisplay device layer 110 includes an anode 111, an electroluminescentlayer 112, and a cathode layer 113 which are stacked on the basesubstrate 100. It should be noted that FIG. 5 illustrates only onetransistor in a pixel drive circuit as an example.

In a specific implementation, in the embodiment of the presentdisclosure, as shown in FIG. 1A, FIG. 2A, FIG. 3A and FIG. 5, theelectroluminescent display device 210 may include: a light-emittingdevice 211 and a virtual light-emitting device 212. An anode of thelight-emitting device 211 is electrically connected to the drain 1242through a via hole penetrating through the planarization layer 129, anda cathode of the light-emitting device 211 is electrically connected toa cathode power source line, so that a drive signal is provided to thelight-emitting device 211 through the drain 1242. And a low voltagesignal is provided to the light-emitting device 211 through the cathodepower source line so as to drive the light-emitting device 211 to emitthe light. Also, an anode of the virtual light-emitting device 212 isnot electrically connected to the pixel drive circuit, so it is not usedfor light-emitting display.

In a specific implementation, in the embodiment of the presentdisclosure, the light-emitting device 211 and the virtual light-emittingdevice 212 are substantially the same in the aspects of manufacturemethods and structures formed.

In a specific implementation, in the embodiment of the presentdisclosure, as shown in FIG. 1A, FIG. 2A, and FIG. 3A, sub-pixels of ashaded area are equipped with the light-emitting device 110 so that thesub-pixels of the shaded area may be applied to light-emitting display.Sub-pixels of a white area have virtual light-emitting device 120 sothat the sub-pixels of the white area may not be applied to thelight-emitting display.

In a specific implementation, in the embodiment of the presentdisclosure, as shown in FIG. 1A, FIG. 2A and FIG. 3A, one light-emittingdevice 110 may be electrically connected to one pixel drive circuitcorrespondingly. For example, each sub-pixel in the first display areaaa is provided with the light-emitting device 110 and the pixel drivecircuit electrically connected to the light-emitting device 110correspondingly. In other words, each sub-pixel in the first displayarea aa has the pixel drive circuit to drive the light-emitting device211 electrically connected thereto to emit the light through the pixeldrive circuit. Part of the sub-pixels (that is, the sub-pixels in theshaded area) in the second display area bb are provided with thelight-emitting device 110, respectively, and the rest of the sub-pixels(that is, the sub-pixels in the white area) are provided with thevirtual light-emitting device 120, respectively. In addition, the seconddisplay area bb further includes pixel drive circuits electricallyconnected to the light-emitting devices 110 in a one-to-onecorrespondence. In other words, the light-emitting device 211 of somesub-pixels in the second display area bb are electrically connected tothe pixel drive circuits, to drive the light-emitting devices 211 toemit the light through the pixel drive circuit.

In the specific implementation, in the embodiment of the presentdisclosure, as shown in FIG. 1B, each pixel drive circuit may include adrive transistor DTFT, and the pixel drive circuit is configured todrive the light-emitting device 211 to emit light by a current flowingthrough the drive transistor DTFT. FIG. 1B only illustrates acorrespondence between the drive transistor DTFT and the light-emittingdevice 211, and the light-emitting devices 211 one-to-one correspond tothe pixel drive circuits. That is, one drive transistor DTFT is onlyelectrically connected to one light-emitting device 211. Furthermore,the drive transistor is electrically connected to the correspondinglight-emitting device by an anode wire.

Exemplarily, in the first display area aa, each red sub-pixel R has alight-emitting device 211 and a pixel drive circuit electricallyconnected to the light-emitting device. Each green sub-pixel G has alight-emitting device 211 and a pixel drive circuit electricallyconnected to the light-emitting device. Each blue sub-pixel B has alight-emitting device 211 and a pixel drive circuit electricallyconnected to the light-emitting device.

Exemplarily, in the second display area bb, each red sub-pixel R in ashaded area has a light-emitting device 211 and a pixel drive circuitelectrically connected to the light-emitting device, and each redsub-pixel R in a white area has a virtual light-emitting device 212.Each green sub-pixel G in a shaded area has a light-emitting device 211and a pixel drive circuit electrically connected to the light-emittingdevice, and each green sub-pixel G in a white area has a virtuallight-emitting device 212. Each blue sub-pixel B in a shaded region hasa light-emitting device 211 and a pixel drive circuit electricallyconnected to the light-emitting device, and each blue sub-pixel B in awhite area has a virtual light-emitting device 212. Of course, the pixeldrive circuit may also be arranged in the sub-pixel with the virtuallight-emitting device 212, and no limitation will be made herein.

In specific implementation, in the embodiment of the present disclosure,the light-emitting devices 211 in the second display area bb areuniformly distributed. Further, the pixel drive circuits in the seconddisplay area bb are uniformly distributed. This may make transmittancein the second display area bb more uniform.

In specific implementation, in the embodiment of the present disclosure,as shown in FIG. 5, an orthographic projection of a light-emittingdevice 211 on the display panel (such as the base substrate 100 wherein)overlaps with an orthographic projection of the area of the pixel drivecircuit electrically connected to the light-emitting device 211 on thedisplay panel (such as the base substrate 100 wherein). This arrangementmay improve an occupied area of the light-emitting device 211.

It should be noted that the light-emitting device 211 in the redsub-pixel R may emit red light, that is, the light-emitting device 211may be a red light-emitting device. The light-emitting device 211 in thegreen sub-pixel G may emit green light, that is, the light-emittingdevice 211 may be a green light-emitting device. The light-emittingdevice 211 in the blue sub-pixel B may emit blue light, that is, thelight-emitting device 211 may be a blue light-emitting device.

The embodiment of the present disclosure provides a schematic structuraldiagram of some more display panels, as shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 3A,which are deformed according to the implementation in the aboveembodiment. The differences between this embodiment and theaforementioned embodiment are only described below, and the similaritiesare not repeated here.

In specific implementation, in the embodiment of the present disclosure,as shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 3A, in the second display area, at leasttwo light-emitting devices 211 with the same light emitting color areelectrically connected to the same pixel drive circuit. This may improvethe life and luminance of light-emitting devices.

Exemplarily, at least two red light-emitting devices may share the samepixel drive circuit, at least two green light-emitting devices may sharethe same pixel drive circuit, and at least two blue light-emittingdevices may also share the same pixel drive circuit. For example, FIG.2A shows two light-emitting devices with the same light emitting colorsharing the same pixel drive circuit. For example, two redlight-emitting devices 211 in the red sub-pixels R are electricallyconnected to the same pixel drive circuit, two green light-emittingdevices 211 in the green sub-pixels G are electrically connected to thesame pixel drive circuit, and two blue light-emitting devices 211 in theblue sub-pixels B are electrically connected to the same pixel drivecircuit. For example, as shown in FIG. 3A, in the second display areabb, at least three light-emitting devices 211 with the same lightemitting color are electrically connected to the same pixel drivecircuit. For example, three red light-emitting devices 211 in the redsub-pixels R are electrically connected to the same pixel drive circuit,three green light-emitting devices 211 in the green sub-pixels G areelectrically connected to the same pixel drive circuit, and three bluelight-emitting devices 211 in the blue sub-pixels B are electricallyconnected to the same pixel drive circuit. Of course, in specificimplementation, there may also be more light-emitting devices with thesame light emitting color are electrically connected to the same pixeldrive circuit, which may be designed according to actual needs, and nolimitation will be made herein.

It should be noted that in FIG. 2A and FIG. 3A, only the red sub-pixel R(that is, the red sub-pixel R in a shaded area), the green sub-pixel G(that is, the green sub-pixel G in a shaded area) and the blue sub-pixelB (that is, the blue sub-pixel B in a shaded area) with thelight-emitting devices 211 are only illustrated. The white area in thesecond display area bb is the sub-pixel provided with the virtuallight-emitting device 212, which may be seen in FIG. 1A, and no detailswill be repeated herein.

In the specific implementation, in the embodiment of the presentdisclosure, in the second display area bb, the drive transistor iselectrically connected to the corresponding light-emitting device by theanode wiring. Exemplarily, as shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 3A, thelight-emitting devices 211 in the sub-pixels with the same color may beelectrically connected to the same pixel drive circuit by the anodewiring 001. For example, the red light-emitting devices 211 in redsub-pixel R are electrically connected to the same pixel drive circuitby the anode wire 001. The green light-emitting devices 211 in greensub-pixel G are electrically connected to the same pixel drive circuitby the anode wiring 001. The blue light emitting devices 211 in bluesub-pixel B are electrically connected to the same pixel drive circuitby the anode wiring 001.

In specific implementation, in the embodiment of the present disclosure,as shown in FIG. 2A to FIG. 3B, each drive transistor DTFT iselectrically connected with at least two light-emitting devices 211 withthe same light emitting color by the anode wiring 001. Specifically, asshown in FIG. 2B, two red light-emitting devices 211 corresponding tothe red sub-pixels R are connected to the same drive transistor DTFT bythe anode wiring 001. Three green light-emitting devices 211corresponding to the green sub-pixels G are connected to the same drivetransistor DTFT by the anode wiring 001. And three blue light-emittingdevices 211 corresponding to the blue sub-pixels B are connected to thesame drive transistor DTFT by the anode wiring 001. As shown in FIG. 3B,three red light-emitting devices 211 corresponding to the red sub-pixelsR are connected to the same drive transistor DTFT by the anode wiring001. Three green light-emitting devices 211 corresponding to the greensub-pixels G are connected to the same drive transistor DTFT by theanode wiring 001. And three blue light-emitting devices 211corresponding to the blue sub-pixels B are connected to the same drivetransistor DTFT by the anode wiring 001. In this way, the anode wiring001 may be configured to connect the light-emitting devices with thesame color near the second display area, so as to improve the life andluminance of the light-emitting devices.

As shown in FIG. 2B and FIG. 3B, in the second display area bb, onepixel drive circuit simultaneously drives at least two light-emittingdevices with the same color to emit the light, while as shown in FIG.1B, one pixel drive circuit only drives one light-emitting device toemit light. Luminance of corresponding pixels in FIG. 2B and FIG. 3B maybe twice and three times of luminance of pixels shown in FIG. 1B, andthus luminance of the display panel may be improved.

In addition, if by improving a drive current to increase the luminanceof the display panel, for example, by setting a current to makesolutions in FIG. 1B, FIG. 2B and FIG. 3B achieve the same luminance,the luminance of each light-emitting device in FIG. 2B is one half ofthe luminance of the light-emitting device shown in FIG. 1B because FIG.2B achieves the same luminance through two light-emitting devices, andthe luminance of each light-emitting device in FIG. 3B is one third ofthe luminance of the light-emitting device shown in FIG. 1B because FIG.3B achieves the same luminance through three light-emitting devices. Sopower consumption of each corresponding light-emitting device in FIG. 2Band FIG. 3B is lower, which may improve a lifetime of the light-emittingdevices.

Moreover, if the current flowing through the light-emitting device 211as shown in FIG. 1B is already the maximum, the light-emitting device211 will burn out if the luminance is further improved. In FIG. 2B andFIG. 3B, the corresponding current flowing through the light-emittingdevices may be further increased without damaging the light-emittingdevices. As a result, FIG. 2B and FIG. 3B have a longer lifetime thanthe light-emitting devices as shown in FIG. 1B, which may improve theluminance of the display panel.

It should be noted that the driver transistor DTFT in the embodiment ofthe present disclosure is illustrated by a P-type transistor. Of course,the driver transistor DTFT may also be an N-type transistor. The P-typetransistor is turned off at high level and is turned on at low level.The N-type transistor is turned on at high level and turned off at lowlevel.

In specific implementation, in the embodiment of the present disclosure,an area of the light-emitting device in the first display area issubstantially the same as that of the light-emitting device in thesecond display area. In this way, the first display area and the seconddisplay area may use the high precision Fine Metal Mask (FMM) with thesame open density and size to evaporate the electroluminescent layers ofthe light-emitting devices in the first display area and the seconddisplay area, and thus evaporation accuracy of the electroluminescentlayers of the first display area and the second display area may beguaranteed at the same time, and the effect of display is improved.

Further, in specific implementation, in the embodiment of the presentdisclosure, in the first display area and the second display area withthe same area, the number of light-emitting devices capable of emittinglight in the first display area is greater than the number oflight-emitting devices capable of emitting light in the second displayarea. In this way, a resolution of the first display area is higher thanthat of the second display area, and images with higher resolutionrequirements, such as played videos, may be displayed in the firstdisplay area. The second display area displays images with lowresolution requirements, such as time, weather and other information.

In specific implementation, in the embodiment of the present disclosure,as shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 3A, in the second display area bb, at leastpart of the light-emitting devices 211 electrically connected to thesame pixel drive circuit may be arranged into at least two columns. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 2A, in the second display area bb, the redlight-emitting devices 211 electrically connected to the same pixeldrive circuit are arranged into two columns, the blue light-emittingdevices 211 electrically connected to the same pixel drive circuit arearranged into two columns, and part of green light-emitting devices 211electrically connected to the same pixel drive circuit are arranged intoone column, and the rest green light-emitting devices 211 electricallyconnected to the same pixel drive circuit are arranged into two columns.For example, as shown in FIG. 3A, the red light-emitting devices 211electrically connected to the same pixel drive circuit are arranged intotwo columns, the blue light-emitting devices 211 electrically connectedto the same pixel drive circuit are arranged into two columns, and thegreen light-emitting devices 211 electrically connected to the samepixel drive circuit are arranged into two columns. Of course, thepresent disclosure includes but is not limited to the above arrangement.

Exemplarily, in the specific implementation, in the embodiment of thepresent disclosure, as shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 3A, in the seconddisplay area bb, the red light-emitting devices 211 (that is, redlight-emitting devices 211 in the red sub-pixels R) electricallyconnected to the same pixel drive circuit are arranged into at least twocolumns, and the red light-emitting devices 211 in adjacent columns arestaggered. For example, as shown in FIG. 2A, the red light-emittingdevices 211 electrically connected to the same pixel drive circuit arearranged into two columns, wherein one column of the red light-emittingdevices 211 is not in the same row of sub-pixels as the other. As shownin FIG. 3A, the red light-emitting devices 211 electrically connected tothe same pixel drive circuit are arranged into two columns, wherein onecolumn has two red light-emitting devices 211 while the other column hasone red light-emitting device 211, and the red light-emitting devices211 in the two columns are not in the same row of sub-pixels.

Exemplarily, in the specific implementation, in the embodiment of thepresent disclosure, as shown in FIG. 3A, in the second display area bb,three red light-emitting devices 211 may be electrically connected tothe same pixel drive circuit. Moreover, in the second display area bb,for the red light-emitting devices 211 electrically connected to thesame pixel drive circuit, a distance between two adjacent redlight-emitting devices 211 in the same column is substantially equal toa width W1 of a red light-emitting device in a column direction F1.

Exemplarily, in specific implementation, in the embodiment of thepresent disclosure, as shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 3A, in the seconddisplay area bb, the blue light-emitting devices 211 (that is, bluelight-emitting devices 211 in the blue sub-pixels B) electricallyconnected to the same pixel drive circuit are arranged into at least twocolumns, and the blue light-emitting devices 211 in adjacent columns arestaggered. For example, as shown in FIG. 2A, the blue light-emittingdevices 211 electrically connected to the same pixel drive circuit arearranged into two columns, wherein one column of the blue light-emittingdevices 211 is not in the same row of sub-pixels as the other. As shownin FIG. 3A, the blue light-emitting devices 211 electrically connectedto the same pixel drive circuit are arranged into two columns, whereinone column has two blue light-emitting devices 211 while the othercolumn has one blue light-emitting device 211, and the bluelight-emitting devices 211 in the two columns are not in the same row ofsub-pixels.

Exemplarily, in specific implementation, in the embodiment of thepresent disclosure, as shown in FIG. 3A, in the second display area bb,three blue light-emitting devices 211 may be electrically connected tothe same pixel drive circuit. Moreover, in the second display area bb,for the blue light-emitting devices 211 electrically connected to thesame pixel drive circuit, a distance between two adjacent bluelight-emitting devices 211 in the same column is substantially equal toa width W1 of a blue light-emitting device in the column direction F1.Of course, the present disclosure includes but is not limited to theabove content.

Exemplarily, in specific implementation, in the embodiment of thepresent disclosure, as shown in FIG. 2A, in the second display area bb,part of the green light-emitting devices electrically connected to thesame pixel drive circuit are arranged into at least two columns, and atleast part of the green light-emitting devices in the adjacent columnsare arranged in the same row. In addition, in the second display areabb, the rest of the green light-emitting devices 211 electricallyconnected to the same pixel drive circuit are arranged in a column. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 2A, in the second display area bb, the greenlight-emitting devices 211 electrically connected to the same pixeldrive circuit are arranged into two columns, wherein one column has agreen light-emitting device 211 while the other column has a greenlight-emitting device 211, and the green light-emitting devices 211arranged in the same row are in different columns.

Exemplarily, in specific implementation, in the embodiment of thepresent disclosure, as shown in FIG. 3A, in the second display area bb,the green light-emitting devices 211 (that is, the green light-emittingdevices 211 in the green sub-pixels G) electrically connected to thesame pixel drive circuit are arranged into at least two columns, and atleast part of the green light-emitting devices 211 in adjacent columnsare arranged in the same row. As shown in FIG. 3A, in the second displayarea bb, the green light-emitting devices 211 electrically connected tothe same pixel drive circuit are arranged into two columns, wherein onecolumn has two green light-emitting devices 211 while the other columnhas a green light-emitting device 211, and the green light-emittingdevices 211 arranged in the same row are in different columns.

Exemplarily, in specific implementation, in the embodiment of thepresent disclosure, as shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 3A, in the seconddisplay area bb, for the green light-emitting devices 211 arranged intoat least two columns and electrically connected to the same pixel drivecircuit, a distance between two adjacent green light-emitting devices211 in the same row is substantially equal to a width W2 of a greenlight-emitting device in the row direction F2. Of course, the presentdisclosure includes but is not limited to the above content.

Exemplarily, in specific implementation, in the embodiment of thepresent disclosure, as shown in FIG. 4, in the second display area bb,the green light-emitting devices 211 (that is, green light-emittingdevices 211 in the green sub-pixels G) electrically connected to thesame pixel drive circuit are arranged into at least two columns, and thegreen light-emitting devices 211 in adjacent columns are staggered. Asshown in FIG. 4, in the second display area bb, the green light-emittingdevices 211 electrically connected to the same pixel drive circuit arearranged into two columns, wherein one column has two greenlight-emitting devices 211 while the other column has one greenlight-emitting device 211, and the green light-emitting devices 211 inthe two columns are not in the same row of sub-pixels. It should benoted that FIG. 4 only illustrates the example of the red sub-pixel R,the green sub-pixel G and the blue sub-pixel B in the second displayarea bb.

Exemplarily, in specific implementation, in the embodiment of thepresent disclosure, as shown in FIG. 4, in the second display area bb,at least three light-emitting devices of the same light emitting colorare electrically connected to the same pixel drive circuit. For example,three green light-emitting devices are electrically connected to thesame pixel drive circuit. For the green light-emitting devices 211electrically connected to the same pixel drive circuit, a distancebetween two adjacent green light-emitting devices 211 in the same columnis substantially equal to a width W3 of a green light-emitting device211 in the column direction F1.

It should be noted that the electroluminescent display device is locatedin a sub-pixel area, and the embodiment of the present disclosure onlyillustrates arrangement of the sub-pixels, not shows the pixel drivecircuits.

It should be noted that in an actual process, due to the limitation ofprocess conditions or other factors, the words referring to the same andequal in the above features cannot be all the same, and there may besome deviations. Therefore, the same relationship among the abovefeatures are established as long as the above conditions are generallymet, and are within the protection scope of the present disclosure. Forexample, the above “same” may be the “same” allowed within the allowableerror range.

Based on the same inventive idea, the embodiment of the presentdisclosure also provides a method for manufacturing the above displaypanel, as shown in FIG. 8, which may include the following steps.

S01: Pixel drive circuits are formed in a first display area and asecond display area of a base substrate. Exemplarily, a buffer layer125, an active layer 121, a gate insulating layer 126, a gate layer 122,an interlayer dielectric layer 127, a capacitor electrode layer 123, aninterlayer insulating layer 128, a source/drain electrode layer 124, anda planarization layer 129 are formed on the base substrate successively.

S02: The electroluminescent display devices are formed using the samefine metal mask in the first display area and the second display area ofthe base substrate on which the pixel drive circuits have been formed.Where open density of the fine metal mask corresponding to the firstdisplay area is the same as that corresponding to the second displayarea. Exemplarily, an anode layer 111, a pixel defining layer, anelectroluminescent layer 112 and a cathode layer 113 are formed on thebase substrate successively. The electroluminescent layers 112 ofelectroluminescent display devices are formed using the same fine metalmask respectively in the first display area and the second display areaof the base substrate with the formed pixel drive circuits.

Based on the same inventive concept, the embodiment of the presentdisclosure further provides a display apparatus, as shown in FIG. 7A andFIG. 7B, which may include the above display panel 10 according to theembodiment of the present disclosure. Since the principle of solving theproblem of the display apparatus is similar to that of theaforementioned display panel, for the implementation of the displayapparatus, reference may be made to the implementation of theaforementioned display panel. And no repetition will be made herein.

In specific implementation, the display apparatus provided by theembodiment of the present disclosure may be a full-screen mobile phoneas shown in FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B. Of course, the above display deviceprovided by the embodiment of the present disclosure may also be anyproduct or component with a display function, such as a tablet computer,a television, a display, a notebook computer, a digital photo frame, anda navigator. The other indispensable components of the display apparatusshould be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art, and will notbe repeated here, nor should it be used as a limitation to the presentdisclosure.

In specific implementation, in the embodiment of the present disclosure,as shown in FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B, a phone frame 20 is arranged around thedisplay panel 10, the sensor 30 (such as a photosensitive device for acamera, a light-sensitive device for a fingerprint transmitter) may bearranged on the back of the display panel 10 corresponding to the seconddisplay area bb. In order to increase intensity of light received by thesensor 30 to improve the performance of the photosensitive device, anorthographic projection of the sensor 30 does not overlap with that ofthe pixel drive circuit on the base substrate of the display panel.Moreover, as the number of pixel drive circuits in the second displayarea decreases relative to the first display area, the transmittance ofthe second display area increases. Therefore, arranging the sensor 30 onthe back of the corresponding display panel in the second display areamay improve intensity of light received by the photosensitive device,thus improving the performance of the sensor 30. For example, thedisplay panel needs to be equipped with photosensitive elements havingintelligent functions such as an infrared sensor function, which mayenhance infrared light transmittance and achieve the purpose of infrareddetection.

The embodiment of the present disclosure provides the above displaypanel, the manufacture method thereof and the display apparatus. Theelectroluminescent display device can be manufactured by making thedistribution density of electroluminescent display devices in the firstdisplay area aa and the second display area bb equal and by using thesame mask. The transmittance of the second display area may be improvedby making the distribution density of the pixel drive circuits in thesecond display area bb less than that of the pixel drive circuits in thefirst display area aa. So the sensor and other elements may be arrangedon the back of the display panel corresponding to the second displayarea bb so that the bezel space originally required by the sensor andother elements may be eliminated, and a screen ratio of a display screenmay be enlarged to make an extremely narrow bezel. That is, a screenratio of the display panel is increased by reducing the distributiondensity of local pixel drive circuits to increase the transmittance ofthe screen.

Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications andvariations to the present disclosure without departing from the spiritand scope of the present disclosure. In this way, if these modificationsand variations of the present disclosure fall within the scope of theclaims of the present disclosure and their equivalent technologies, thepresent disclosure is also intended to include these modifications andvariations.

1. A display panel, comprising: a display area, which comprises aplurality of pixel units, wherein the pixel units compriseelectroluminescent display devices and pixel drive circuits for drivingthe electroluminescent display devices to emit light; theelectroluminescent display devices comprise light-emitting devices andvirtual light-emitting devices; the light-emitting devices areelectrically connected with the pixel drive circuits, and the virtuallight-emitting devices are not connected with the corresponding pixeldrive circuits; wherein the display area comprises a first display areaand a second display area; and a density of the pixel drive circuits inthe second display area is less than a density of the pixel drivecircuits in the first display area.
 2. The display panel according toclaim 1, wherein one of the light-emitting devices is electricallyconnected to one of the pixel drive circuit correspondingly.
 3. Thedisplay panel according to claim 1, wherein in the second display area,at least two of the light-emitting devices with same light emittingcolor are electrically connected to a same pixel drive circuit.
 4. Thedisplay panel according to claim 3, wherein in the second display area,at least part of the light-emitting devices electrically connected tothe same pixel drive circuit are arranged in at least two columns. 5.The display panel according to claim 4, wherein the light-emittingdevices comprise: red light-emitting devices, green light-emittingdevices and blue light-emitting devices; in the second display area, thered light-emitting devices electrically connected to the same pixeldrive circuit are arranged in at least two columns, and the redlight-emitting devices in adjacent columns are staggered; in the seconddisplay area, the blue light-emitting devices electrically connected tothe same pixel drive circuit are arranged in at least two columns, andthe blue light-emitting devices in adjacent columns are staggered. 6.The display panel according to claim 5, wherein in the second displayarea, a part of the green light-emitting devices electrically connectedto the same pixel drive circuit are arranged in at least two columns,and at least part of the green light-emitting devices in adjacentcolumns are arranged in a same row; in the second display area, theother part of green light-emitting devices electrically connected to thesame pixel drive circuit are arranged in a column.
 7. The display panelaccording to claim 6, wherein in the second display area, the greenlight-emitting devices electrically connected to the same pixel drivecircuit are arranged in at least two columns, and the greenlight-emitting devices in the adjacent columns are staggered.
 8. Thedisplay panel according to claim 2, wherein at least one of the pixeldrive circuits comprises a drive transistor, wherein in the seconddisplay area, the drive transistor is electrically connected to thecorresponding light-emitting device through an anode wiring.
 9. Thedisplay panel according to claim 1, wherein at least part of edges ofthe second display area overlap with at least part of edges of thedisplay area, and the other part of the second display area is tangentto the first display area.
 10. The display panel according to claim 1,wherein the first display area is arranged to enclose the second displayarea.
 11. A display apparatus, comprising the display panel according toclaim
 1. 12. The display apparatus according to claim 11, wherein asensor is arranged on a back of the display panel corresponding to asecond display area, and an orthographic projection of the sensor doesnot overlap with an orthographic projection of a pixel drive circuit onthe display panel.
 13. (canceled)
 14. The display panel according toclaim 1, wherein a distribution density of the electroluminescentdisplay devices in the first display area and the second display area issame.
 15. A method for manufacturing the display panel according toclaim 1, comprising: forming the pixel drive circuits in the firstdisplay area and the second display area of the base substrate; andforming the electroluminescent display devices using in the firstdisplay area and the second display area of the base substrate with thepixel drive circuits.
 16. The method according to claim 15, wherein saidforming the electroluminescent display devices using in the firstdisplay area and the second display area of the base substrate with thepixel drive circuits comprises: forming the electroluminescent displaydevices using same fine metal mask in the first display area and thesecond display area of the base substrate with the pixel drive circuits,wherein open density of the fine metal mask corresponding to the firstdisplay area is same as that corresponding to the second display area.